YMMV / Extras

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • When Andy brusquely denies Darren an on-stage pass to see him, Maggie lets Darren down gently with a few white lies that paint Andy's refusal in a kinder light. She clearly isn't comfortable doing so, but she pulls it off just fine and Darren accepts it at face value. Her Bad Liar tendencies, which invariably result in embarrassment and social disaster for Andy, might have been deliberate.
  • Though they seemingly remain on good terms after Andy's apology in the first season, Damon's infamous changes to When The Whistle Blows that ultimately harm it and Andy's reputation could be seen as an attempt to subtly spite Andy for his "too gay" comment.
• Anvilicious: The Author Tract in the Christmas Special is not particularly subtle, and nor is the crusade against the traditional sitcom and sketch show format as the show progresses.
• Broken Base: Some felt that the second series suffered from becoming something of an Author Tract about how all sitcoms that don't follow the single-camera The Office (UK) / Extras style are low-brow garbage. Note that the vast majority of critics agreed 100% with this viewpoint of classic Brit Coms and complimented Ricky Gervais on helping point out the flaws in other comedy shows; their main complaint was that it overtook the humour on this show. Conversely, some feel the second series is superior to the first, due to Stephen Merchant and Shaun Williams having larger roles, more varied celebrity appearances [such as the Bafta episode], greater character development for Andy [dealing with success] and the When the Whistle Blows parody segments.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Kate Winslet cameoed as herself in an episode, where she announced her intention to star in a Holocaust film purely because such films always win Oscars. A few years later, she finally won an Oscar for The Reader, which is, you guessed it, a Holocaust film. The best part is that Ricky was a presenter at the Golden Globes that year - after she won he got up on stage and lampshaded the episode: "What did I tell you, Kate? A Holocaust film!"
  • One of the Celebrity Big Brother housemates in the Christmas Special is Lionel Blair, Adam Westing it up with the best of them. In 2014, he appeared on the show for real. The Now Show's Sara Pascoe pointed out that while the parody episode only had him tapdancing around the house and complaining about being old, the real thing had him pole-dancing dressed in latex.
  • The Samuel L. Jackson episode features him getting confused with Laurence Fishburne. Funnily enough in 2014, a local news reporter interviewed Jackson and confused him with Fishburne in a very similar manner. Do note that this has happened to them enough that they'll tell stories about it.
  • There's a general vibe (especially in Series 2) that people who are easily amused should be a prime target of mockery. In the years since Extras ended, Ricky Gervais has swung in the other direction and his comedy stylings are now about mocking people who are either easily offended or who simply don't laugh at every single joke they hear. You've got to wonder if Ricky even knows what reaction he wants from an audience.
• Hollywood Homely: Played with. Maggie often gets a number of disparaging comments about her appearance (especially by Clive Owen), even though Ashley Jenson is quite attractive. Of course, this trope is more justified than usual considering she (by dint of her career in the film/television industry) is surrounded by extremely attractive women.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Are you having a laugh? Is (s)he having a laugh?!"
  • "I've done it with a girl, intercourse-wise."
• Misaimed Fandom: Ricky Gervais was less than thrilled when "Are you having a laugh" ended up joining the ranks of the catchphrases that he considers to embody everything wrong with British comedy, and to this day he doesn't hesitate to tell that to anyone who quotes it in his vicinity.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Bound to happen given some of the celebrity cast are Hollywood A-Listers. Samuel L. Jackson in particular doesn't ever get to join in on the Adam Westing like everyone else.
• The Woobie: Maggie's life hits the skids after deciding she's had enough of being an extra. Due to having no skills, the only job she's able to get is scrubbing floors and she's forced to move into a dirty cramped flat that the realtor admits has a high crime rate. The clincher comes when Maggie asks Darren if there's any jobs at the Car Phone Warehouse, to which he says no, causing her to break down in tears.

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